Indian and Universal Spirituality in the Thought of Shri Ramakrishna

Ramakrishna Parmahamsa is maybe the best known saint person of nineteenth century India. He was conceived in a poor Brahmin family in 1836, in a residential community close Calcutta, West Bengal. As a young fellow, he was aesthetic and a prevalent storyteller and performing artist. His folks were religious, and inclined to dreams and spiritual dreams. Ramakrishna's dad had a dream of the god Gadadhara (Vishnu) while on a religious journey. In the vision, the god revealed to him that he would be naturally introduced to the family as a child. Youthful Ramakrishna was inclined to encounters of spiritual dream and transitory loss of consciousness. His initial spiritual encounters included going into a condition of delight while watching the trip of cranes, and losing consciousness of the external world while assuming the part of the god Shiva in a school play. Ramakrishna had little enthusiasm for school or commonsense things of the world. In 1866, he turned into a cleric at an as of late devoted sanctuary to the Goddess Kali situated close Calcutta on the Ganges Waterway. It was worked by a Monastic dowager, Rani Rasmani. Ramakrishna turned into a full-time lover to the goddess investing expanding measures of energy giving contributions and mulling over her. He reflected in a saint forest of five trees on the edge of the sanctuary grounds looking for a dream of the goddess Kali. At a certain point he ended up disappointed, feeling he couldn't experience any more drawn out without seeing Kali. He requested that the goddess appear to him. He undermined to take his own particular existence with a custom blade (regularly held in the hand of the Kali statue). Now, he clarified how the goddess appeared to him as a sea of light:

Ramakrishna's conduct turned out to be more sporadic as time passed and stressed his family and business. He would go up against custom and

a spouse trusting his psychological unsteadiness was an aftereffect of his chastity.

In the Indian custom the human identity is viewed as trichotomous, that is, it comprises of three elements: body, brain, and Atman. An individual's actual nature is neither the body nor the psyche, which are changing and transient, however the Atman, which is beginningless, self-existent, and everlasting. The Atman is of the idea of unadulterated cognizant ness, which is a section or impression of the unending consciousness known as Brahman or Paramatman. In this convention there is an essential contrast amongst ethical quality and spirituality, in spite of the fact that they are commonly associated. The second factor is the limit of Indian spirituality to direct testing powers and adjust to evolving conditions. This joining and adjustment appear to have taken after a sort of rationalistic example. Be that as it may, dissimilar to the vicious and dangerous dialectics of Hegel and Marx, Indian history has taken after a serene and agreeable dialectic.

At the beginning of human progress, on the banks of the Indus and the Saraswati waterways, the Indian mind Sri Ramakrishna and Spiritual Renaissance got up at the spiritualist bit of the sun of information and opened to the wonders and puzzles of life, presence, and reality. The main reaction of the Indian personality to this spiritualist arousing appeared as psalms and customs, which framed the early piece of the Vedas. This shaped the primordial theory of Indian culture. Before long there created parallel lines of reasoning in light of reason and in-tuitive enquiry, which filled in as the direct opposite. Out of a combination of these two approaches to Reality there developed the Upanishads. Next another spiritual stream known as Bhagavata-dharma focused on the religion of Vas-udeva Krishna created. The combination of the jnana of the Buddhism, which thrived as a parallel stream for a thousand years until the point when the Mahayana rationale was incorporated into the Vedantic convention by Acharya Shankara in the eighth century ce. The consequence of this union was the Advaita Vedanta, considered by researchers to speak to the most noteworthy apex of logic accomplished by mankind. Several customs of yoga, for example, the Shaiva, the Patanjala, and the Hatha—which emerged at various periods, were at long last combined with Vedanta to offer ascent to the Shakta tradition. At the point when the convergence of Islam occurred in the eleventh and consequent hundreds of years, there emerged in various parts of the nation holy people like Nanak and Kabir who endeavored to in-tegrate a portion of the great parts of Islam into Indian culture—for different authentic reasons this procedure of mix has maybe not accomplished culmination.

There are two purposes behind this. In any case the English control of India finished the nation's political disengagement from whatever is left of the world, and crafted by Western orientalists and Swami Vivekananda's work of spreading Vedanta in the West finished the nation's social segregation. Therefore Indian culture has been drawn into the mainstream of world culture. 2. Emphasis on Direct Involvement

In any case he created the confidence that Self-consciousness or God-consciousness is feasible for all individuals, even in the present-day world. It isn't implied just for priests and hermits yet in addition for

rank, religion, or race; and it is conceivable even while living in the present-day society. Just an avatara can give this affirmation, and incalculable quantities of individuals have recuperated their confidence in God and spiritual life by perusing the life and lessons of Sri Ramakrishna. No less a man than Mahatma Gandhi has borne declaration to this reality. In his short foreword to the standard life story of Sri Ramakrishna, Gandhiji composed: 'His life empowers us to see God up close and personal. Nobody can read the tale of his existence without being persuaded that God alone is genuine and that all else is a deception.' 2

By religion is implied a way of life in view of confidence in God and good request; recognition of ceremonies, traditions, and so forth; and devotion to some organization. Spirituality is a personal mission for importance in light of a perspective of a definitive Reality and goes for higher fulfilment through direct mysterious experience of a definitive Reality. The external parts of religion, for example, traditions and ceremonies, indicate much assorted variety and are the primary driver of fights and clashes among religions. The spiritual parts of the distinctive religions show a decent arrangement of consistency. Sri Ramakrishna held that spirituality frames the most fundamental part everything being equal. When he said that all religions prompt a similar objective, what he implied was that the spiritual ways of all religions prompt a similar extreme objective. The partition of the basic spiritual parts of religions from their external structures that Sri Ramakrishna achieved has now turned into a universally acknowledged view. An ever increasing number of individuals, particularly in the West, now see themselves as spiritual instead of as religious.

In present day times, under the term 'religious pluralism',3 the regulation of congruity of re-ligions is being acknowledged by an ever increasing number of individuals everywhere throughout the world. It is followed in a large portion of the spiritualmovements that have jumped up as of late. In this setting two focuses with respect to Sri Ramakrishna's idea of harmony of religions merit exceptional mention. In any case Sri Ramakrishna's instructing on agreement of religions depends on direct involvement. We brought up before that each religion has three levels of capacity: the social, the intelligent person, and the supernatural or spiritual. The majority of the announcements on pluralism or agreement of religions that we run over relates just to congruity at the initial two levels, in particular the social and the learned person. Sri Ramakrishna's message of congruity of religions stresses amicability at the enchanted or spiritual level. He was the main individual who really rehearsed the spiritual strategies for various religions, picking up consequently the immediate experience that all ways prompt the consciousness of a similar extreme Reality, which is known by various names. Sri Ramakrishna alone achieved the congruity of reli¬gions at the experiential level.

For any religion, group, or movement to make due for a considerable length of time the dangerous powers of history the help of a scripture is vital. A scripture is a limitless wellspring of motivation. It is likewise an extraordinary binding together power. Any religious movement that does not have the help of a sacred writing will soon diminish. The modern world required another scripture tuned in to the necessities and states of the present-day world. The spiritual renaissance related with Sri Ramakrishna brought into reality that new scripture. Notwithstanding amid his lifetime, a gathering of Sri Ramakrishna's lessons had been brought out by some Brahmo pioneers, who were not his supporters but rather admirers. Later on maybe a couple different arrangements of Sri Ramakrishna's lessons showed up in print. They were all, in any case, eclipsed by the masterpiece of Mahendranath Gupta, entitled Sri Ramakrishna Kathamrita, converted into English as the Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna. This is the new sacred writing of the Ramakrishna

legitimize its claim to be the universalscripture for all, are specified beneath.

Crafted by an avatara isn't for a couple of years however for a considerable length of time or even centuries. He guarantees the continuation of the new spiritual custom for such a significant lot. On account of Sri Ramakrishna, the propagation of his main goal on earth has been guaranteed in a few different ways: through another Monastic request that he established, through a network of lay aficionados, and through different organizations.

Just a request of priests can devote themselves completely and magnanimously to the assignment of engendering an avatara's message and supporting his main goal for the welfare of mankind for quite a long time. This was the motivation behind why Sri Ramakrishna was anxious to bring into reality another ascetic request amid the end a long time of his genuine life on earth. He is the genuine originator of the Ramakrishna Request. Albeit for the most part Swami Vivekananda was instrumental in the arrangement of this new ascetic request, he had his impact as per the guidelines got from Sri Ramakrishna. Like the message of Sri Ramakrishna, the new ascetic request excessively came as the summit of three to four thousand long periods of Indian culture. Religion presumably started in India. The Apparatus Veda, which is the most seasoned living sacred text on the planet and is dated in the vicinity of 2000 and 1500 BC, notices muni and yati in a few spots. These words allude to destitute religious austerity or priests who had a meandering existence. Ramakrishna religion is in a few regards another idea of the devout ideal. A portion of the striking highlights of this better approach for ascetic life are quickly expressed beneath. (a) Universal Outlook We have seen that Hindu devotion has three fundamental examples: the ashrama, a pretty much transitory homestead a master and his educates, the Math, a lasting establishment with a solitary priest and having standard plans for love, and the Akhada, a huge freely weave religious network. The Ramakrishna Request does not adjust to any of these and Christian types of religion.

Priests of the Ramakrishna Request are occupied with various types of social administrations. This calls for social portability and collaboration with the universal public at various levels. To encourage these issues the priests take after a modernway of life, for example, the utilization of custom fitted garments, of present day conveniences and methods of movement et cetera. This modernization of the way of life has been managed without bargaining the fundamental beliefs and estimations of devout life. The two fundamental standards of sannyasa are renunciation and viewing oneself as the Atman.

The Ramakrishna Request has been set up by Sri Ramakrishna and Swami Vivekananda not just for a couple of years; with its establishments somewhere down in the spiritual traditions of India, it is worked to a centuries ago. An ascetic association can keep going for a considerable length of time just in the event that it is administered by strict Discipline and honesty and is supported by enduring spiritual coordination‘s. (d) Combination of Yogas It is to encourage the advancement of internal possibilities that Swami Vivekananda in-troduced a combination of yogas into religious life. Sannyasins of dashanami arranges for the most part take after Vedanta as a rationality and way of life and embrace jnana-marga as the methods for mukti. Vaishnava sadhus take after the way of bhakti, and those among them who think about sacred texts do as such keeping in mind the end goal to reinforce their commitment. The Ramakrishna Request takes after a twofold blend: combination of Vedanta and yoga, and union of four yogas. Every yoga depends on the improvement of a specific faculty. Amalgamation of yoga goes for the advancement of the considerable number of resources.

In the Ramakrishna Request benefit doesn't involve insignificant obligation or commitment yet a way of life, a characteristic method for living on the planet. This consciousness of administration depends on certain philosophical standards. To comprehend these standards it is important to first understand

preservationist sannyasins. Since work includes a triple division in consciousness, to be specific, the knower, know-edge, and the question be known-jnata, jnana, jpeya-Advaitins see fill in as a result of ajnana, primordial obliviousness. In addition, by temperance of their renunciation of the world, preservationist sannyasins view themselves as over the impulses of work and social commitments. (f) Brotherly Love Sri Ramakrishna, who recouped the Vedic ideal, emanated this unadulterated awesome love and transmitted it to his pupils. That surge of unadulterated spiritual love is the essential power binding together every one of the individuals from the Ramakrishna Request, who have distinctive demeanors and different social and religious foundations. The part of the Heavenly Mother Sri Sarada Devi in the advancement, respectability, power, and coherence of the Request is important to the point that it should be dealt with independently. Here we just say that the unlimited love of her comprehensive, all-forgoing, all-lenient, awesome mother heart is likewise a noteworthy power holding together the regularly growing devout Request. The universal love of Sri Ramakrishna, the Blessed Mother, and the immediate supporters of the Ace is a living and breathing life into convention in the Ramakrishna Request, which has no parallel in the modern world. Relationship among the priests of the Request depends on this divine cherish. (g) Centred around Sri Ramakrishna The entire Ramakrishna Request is based on Sri Ramakrishna. He is the most important thing in the world of the individuals from the Request. Their individual and aggregate lives are situated to him as their end and means. Swami Vivekananda has depicted the Ramakrishna Request as the 'enchanted collection of Sri Ramakrishna'. The Request fills in as the primary channel for the stream of Sri Ramakrishna's elegance and power on the planet for the welfare surprisingly. On the event of blessing the recently procured grounds of Belur Math, in December 1898, Swami Vivekananda stated: 'The spiritual power radiating from here will saturate the entire world, transforming the current of men's exercises and desires into new channels. From here will be dispersed goals fitting jnana, Bhakti, Yoga and Karma.' 7 This Ramakrishna-centredness does not repudiate or restrict the universal viewpoint of the Request. The explanation behind this is Sri Ramakrishna speaks to the widespread model of godlikeness on earth, and he can be related to the indifferent, nirguna, angle or with definitive Reality. In other words, he can be venerated in any frame as the 'Divine force of all'.

Spirituality is nothing recently brought into the world either in the East or in the West. It has been with humankind from time immemorial. Yet, the predominance of enthusiasm for spirituality has been set apart by times of upsurge took after by times of decay. In India the primary blossoming of spirituality occurred amid the time of the Upanishads, which, as per Western researchers, was from 1,000 to 300 BC. This was followed by the ascent of Buddhism. After an extensive stretch of rehashed attacks from the north and political flimsiness another rush of spirituality was brought by Acharya Shankara up in the eighth century ce. A third rush of spirituality was created by the medieval holy people Ramananda, Nanak, Kabir, jnanadev, and numerous others. With the spiritual renaissance associated with Sri Ramakrishna, which started amidst the nineteenth century, we are currently amidst another spiritual wave.

By 'current spiritual movement' is implied the new spiritual pattern that started in the Assembled States in the 1960s. It has been picking up energy amid the most recent fifty years and has been applying its impact in numerous nations, including India and Japan. Before endeavoring to comprehend the genuine nature and extent of this new movement, it is necessary to take note of the accompanying focuses. In any case it ought to be noticed this new movement isn't a continuation of the two centuries old Christian spiritual convention talked about above.8 It is another spiritual wonder that has no point of reference. Also, the new movement speaks to the moving of the focal point of spirituality from the Old World to the New World. Regardless of all the viciousness and shamelessness announced in the daily papers, the Unified States is developing as the most spiritually stirred country in the West. There are sufficient motivations to trust that India and America would be the two driving countries in the domain of spirituality later on decades and hundreds of years. Another point to be noted about this new movement is that it is universally a lay movement totally disorderly, diffuse, and assorted. It presently comprises of such a large number of different and dissimilar components that it is more right to see it as

establishment is spirituality in essence. The modern spiritual movement speaks to the battle of a people to indigenize an outsider perspective of the real world and life that has not been pushed onto them through evangelist systems, but rather is something they have eagerly acknowledged as it addresses their issues and aspirations.

That perspective of the real world and life got from India's old sacred writings, the Upanishads and the Gita, and the antiquated arrangement of reasoning known as Vedanta, first achieved the shores of the US in the early many years of the nineteenth century and affected a portion of the best individuals the nation at any point created—Emerson, Thoreau, and Walt Whitman. The motivating compositions of these inventive masters affected a great many individuals, as regardless they do, and arranged the ground for a tremendous new movement. It was in that prolific ground that Swami Vivekananda sowed the live seeds of the widespread message of his lord Sri Ramakrishna and bestowed an enlivening motivation to the lethargic spiritual cognizance of Americans. That essential spiritual arousing still gives the inward powerful of the advanced spiritualmovement, however it isn't universally perceived all things considered. In this way, the beginnings of the new movement were spiritual and Vedantic. Amid the two world wars, which crushed Europe, the US stayed separated. Amid that period some youthful priests of high scholarly and spiritual bore were sent by the Ramakrishna Request to the US. They began a few focuses and built up the Vedanta movement on a firm foundation.9 What we have examined so far constitutes the principal period of the modernspiritualmovement in the West.

This second stage is otherwise called the New Age and the time of Counter Culture.11 What started as unadulterated spirituality ended up obfuscated with a large group of muddled components, for example, soothsaying, Ayurveda, pranic recuperating, reiki, precious stone looking, pyramid, resurrection, regression treatment, Gaia theory, dark mass, kundalini, psychedelia, and a large group of different practices and religions. What is most deplorable about the entire strange marvel is the huge misuse of physical, mystic, and spiritual energies that it included. Hundreds of thousands of evidently judicious individuals had gone under an odd, broadened mesmerizing spell, the maya of the Celestial Mother. Luckily, the second stage depleted itself, all things considered, by the 1990s, in

The start of the third stage is set apart by the movement of spirituality as a get wellspring out of the trash of superstitions, misguided judgments, twists of realities, and per-renditions of human senses. Amid the second stage the supporters of spirituality framed just a little segment of society, which comprised of for the most part confused or unpredictable individuals, including school drop-outs and radicals. Spirituality was thought to be outside the domain of science, in spite of the fact that a couple of prominent researchers had talked about the need a spiritual viewpoint on life.

Everywhere throughout the free world there has come a radical change in the state of mind towards spirituality. Viewed till as of late as enchantment implied just for hermits, spirituality has suddenly turned into a vital subject of discourse and research in colleges and of pragmatic application in everyday life. There are a few purposes behind this change likewise show the universal temper of the present age. A portion of the causes are specified beneath. (i) Quest for A definitive From time immemorial the human spirit has been looking to accomplish eternality, preeminent knowledge, incomparable joy, and everlasting peace. This goal had stayed since quite a while ago stifled owing to predominance of realism and distraction with the battle for presence. With the ongoing changes in social conditions, the endless journey is standing up for itself indeed in the spirits of individuals.

Human issues are of four sorts: monetary, social, mental, and existential. In created nations financial and social issues are, as it were, explained or are being managed. Psychological and existential issues have extraordinarily expanded lately. The contrast between the two is that mental issues have a particular referred to or comprehensible reason, for example, horrible experiences in youth or in later life, ominous family conditions, constraint of instinctual wants, et cetera. These can be successfully managed by clinical clinicians, therapists, mental doctor's facilities, and others. By differentiate, existential problems have no particular outside reason. They emerge from the specific idea of human existence, from the distance of the human spirit from its awesome substratum.

Industrialization, troublesome living conditions, the breakdown of family life, merciless competition, requesting employments, furious work routines, money related vulnerabilities, and a few different elements have made the lives of present day individuals exceptionally upsetting. Nonetheless, as Dr Hans Selye, who did spearheading work in comprehension the physiological and biochemical responses in the body to pressure, has stated, stretch is unavoidable throughout everyday life. Without confronting pressure nothing beneficial in life can be accomplished. In any case, if stretch goes past a man's pressure bearing limit, it can cause genuine mental unsettling influences or psychosomatic sicknesses.

We have been talking about the explanations behind the developing, boundless enthusiasm for spirituality in the present society. Another reason is the consciousness that spirituality is an extraordinary help in driving a fruitful individual life and furthermore in the effective administration of organizations. A change in outlook is currently occurring in administration rationality in the West and in the East. Subsequent to attempting the English, American, and Japanese models of administration in a steady progression, there now is by all accounts a move to attempt the Indian spiritual approach in administration. With respect to the accompanying focuses might be noted.

We currently go to the most vital motivation behind why enthusiasm for spirituality is developing quickly among individuals having a place with all kinds of different backgrounds in the standard of society. Spirituality is currently accepting the in - coordinate help, and now and again the immediate help, of science. This help originates from the way that the interfacing join amongst science and spirituality has been discovered: it is cognizance. The revelation of consciousness as the shared conviction amongst science and spirituality is a standout amongst the most noteworthy occasions in the ongoing history of human culture and is probably going to have broad effect on the fate of mankind. Consciousness is presently a standout amongst the most critical subjects of concentrate in various branches of science. It is at the forefront of interdisciplinary research. We specify here quickly four trains that are presently studying consciousness from four distinct points.

As said before, spirituality had been viewed as a piece of religion till present day times. It was Sri Ramakrishna who initially achieved the partition of spirituality from religion.13 He instructed that spirituality is the pith of each religion, and whoever follows it with immaculateness and truthfulness will have the capacity to acknowledge God whatever be the religion one has a place with. Swami Vivekananda gave the name 'Widespread Religion' to this all inclusive spirituality. Whatever may be its starting point, the possibility that spirituality can be rehearsed without alliance to any religion made progress from the 1970s and, with the happening to the Internet, it ended up set up as an unmistakable movement. The Internet is making accessible the spiritual fortunes of all religions to individuals everywhere throughout the world. Individuals are starting to find a shared opinion to all the spiritual conventions of the world, and they have the opportunity to pick whatever smart thought they find in various customs. Along these lines spirituality expect an all-inclusive measurement and an autonomous status. The new spiritualmovement has been named 'Mainstream Spirituality', 'Worldwide Spirituality', and 'Non-religious Spirituality'. In this way, at introduce two sorts of spirituality are in vogue: religious spirituality and non-religious spirituality, which is otherwise, called Mainstream Spirituality, and named here as Universal Spirituality. (i) One observable component is the moving of the focal point of spirituality from God to the human being. It isn't philosophical inquiries concerning God that youngsters are presently keen on yet their own internal issues. They could possibly have confidence in God, and their essential concern isn't consciousness of God yet to orientate themselves to an all inclusive life and reality. Spiritual life for the modern youth is an individual mission for importance, for security, for adoration, for peace. (ii) The second striking component is an adjustment in the demeanor of individuals towards themselves. The Vedantic idea of human identity as body-personality soul is by all accounts more adequate to the devotees of present day spirituality than the Judeo-Christian idea of body-mind. It might be noted here that the soul, known as the Atman, is not the same as the psyche was a key idea in the Vedanta logic spread in the West by Swami Vivekananda.

setbacks or sitting tight for God to safeguard them out of challenges, present day young people will confront the troubles of life themselves. (iv) A positive and all-encompassing point of view describes the present age. Youngsters don't view spirituality as a way to escape from life, however as a way to carry on a more extravagant, more full, nobler, and significant life. For them spiritual life isn't other-common however this-common. Great wellbeing and achievement in life are likewise propelling components. (v) Another imperative element of the modernspiritualmovement is its pluralistic way to deal with world religions, its receptiveness to the spiritual ways everything being equal. (vi) Young people of the present age don't need their spirits to be detained by the dividers of religious establishments. Religious life may require distinguishing proof with a category or foundation, yet spiritual life is an individual mission in the profundities of one's cognizance. (vii) At long last, we go to a fundamental thought quickening the advanced mainstream spiritualmovement: spirituality isn't just an individual mission yet additionally a matter of direct involvement. (viii) Apart from the notable highlights talked about over, the modern common spiritualmovement likewise worries about natural security, sexual orientation correspondence, digital culture, and different issues.

While a large portion of Ramakrishna's enthusiasts pressed together the Bhakti part of his Lessons, Narendra was to assume a noteworthy part in the social part of the Ace's lessons. Of essential noteworthiness, nonetheless, was the thought that 'experience' in the surge of human cognizance is the root and premise of all change. While the past section lay declaration of this at the Bhakti level, Narendra's future part in the advancement of Sri Ramakrishna's logic of spirituality was to empower mankind to take note of the twin connection amongst spiritual and material welfare. Narendra was in this way prepared to actualise this logic to its fullest. Sri Ramakrishna is said to have perceived early the 'peculiarity' of Narendra's identity and remarked, 'When Narendra sees the affliction of the general population, his Personality would vanish.' Sri Ramakrishna's theory set aside the possibility of individual salvation for lightening the misery of others and that living animals ought to be presented with an indistinguishable state of mind from that of serving God.

Avinashilingam, T. S. (ed.) (1975). Bhagavad Gita: The Science of Human Development. Madras: Ramakrishna Math. Baird, Robert D. (ed.) (1981). Religion in Modem India. India: Manohar Press. Cole, Owen W. (1982). The Guru in Sikhism. London: Darton, Longman & Todd Ltd. Dass, Ram (1974). The Only Dance There Is: Talks at the Menninger Foundation, 1970 and Spring Grove Hospital, 1972. New York: Anchor Books. Evans, G.R. (1993). Philosophy and Theology in the Middle Ages. London: Routledge. Gandhi, M. K. (1960). Discourses on the Gita. Ahmedabad: Navajivan Publishing House. Murty, K. Satchidananda (1991). Radhakrishnan: His Life and Ideas. New Delhi: Orient Paperbacks. Nidan (1993). The Journal of the Department of Hindu Studies University of Durban Westville. Schuon, Frithjof (1984). The Transcendent Unity of Religions. Illinois: The Theosophical Publishing House. Swami Prabhavananda and Isherwood, Christopher (translator) (1953). How to Know God: The Yoga Aphorisms of Patanjali. California: Vedanta Press. Trungpa, Chogyam (1987). Glimpses of Abhidharma. Boston: Shambhala Dragon Editions Note the Master's commentary ‘Money is a great upadhi' in The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna (Swami Nikhilananda, 1948: p. 169). Narendra (nath), a disciple of Sri Ramakrishna, would later become world famous as Swami Vivekananda.

spiritually grounded (Swami Nikhilananda, 1948: p. 44). See Swami Saradananda (1978). Whose arguments reinforce the notion that the Master, though a Bhakti, was seeped in selfless and sacrificial work. In spite of detailed arguments about the Master's position on service to humanity, which is the bedrock of the Master's social philosophy, there has been a school of thought challenging that position, discussed later in Chapter 8. For a full understanding of Swami Vivekananda‘s development and spiritual philosophy, see Swami Vivekananda (1980).

Research Scholar, Swami Vivekanand University, Sagar, MP